Sculpin (SS 191)

Enroute to Johnston Island, Sculpin, under Cdr. Fred Connaway, left Pearl Harbor on 5
November 1943.
After topping off with fuel, she left Johnston on 7 November to
conduct her ninth patrol in an area in the Caroline Islands. Her mission was to
support the action of our surface forces in the Gilbert Islands by intercepting and
attacking any enemy forces which might be proceeding from Truk toward the Marshall
Islands to oppose our surface
forces. She was to leave her area on 14 December, and return to Pearl Harbor,
stopping at Johnston for fuel if necessary. Sculpin was not heard from following her
departure from Johnston Island on 7 November.

Fred Connaway

During the patrol, Commander John P. Cromwell (promoted to Captain during the patrol)
was aboard Sculpin. He was to take
charge of a coordinated attack group consisting of Sculpin,Searaven, and
either Apogon or Spearfish, if formation of the group were directed by dispatch.
Should the group be ordered formed, Captain Cromwell would transmit his orders
to them by low frequency radio from Sculpin.
On the night of 29 November, the vessels were directed to form and Apogon
was named as the third member of
the group. When no rendezvous orders were given by Captain Cromwell after 40
hours, new orders were sent by ComSubPac. Sculpin
was to proceed immediately to Eniwetok, make a close
observation, and report any enemy shipping. This was done in order to avoid
confusion among the other submarines, and to determine whether Sculpin
was all right. Although the new
orders to Sculpin were sent
repeatedly on 1 December and other orders a few days later, no answer came from
her. On 30 December Sculpin was
reported as presumed lost.

Meanwhile,
long before tension mounted at the bases concerning her, Sculpin was
meeting her test. The story presented here is
reconstructed from statements made by members of her crew recovered from enemy
prison camps since the close of the war.

On the night of 18 November, Sculpin
made a radar contact on a fast convoy, and made an end around at full power.
Submerging on the enemy track for a dawn attack, Sculpin began what
promised to be a successful approach. However,
she was detected in the attack phase, and the convoy zigged toward, forcing her
deep. There was no depth charge attack at this time. About an hour later, the
ship surfaced to begin another end around, but immediately dove again, having
surfaced 6,000 yards from a destroyer which was lagging the convoy. Depth
charging started as soon as she dove again.

Early in the ensuing attack a string of depth charges did the ship minor damage. Lt.
G.E. Brown, the only officer survivor, was relieved as diving officer to make
an inspection and found her fundamentally sound. At this time the submarine had
succeeded in shaking the enemy, but before Brown returned to the control room
the ship had broached when the diving officer had tried to bring her to
periscope depth and the depth gauge had

Capt. John P. Cromwell, Wold Pack Commander

--70--

stuck at 125 feet. The depth charge attack was renewed at once.

About noon on 19 November, a close string of 18 depth
charges threw Sculpin, already at
deep depth, badly out of control. The pressure hull was distorted, she was
leaking, steering and diving plane gear were damaged and she was badly out of
trim. Commander Connaway decided to surface and to fight clear. The ship was
surfaced and went to gun action. During the battle Commander Connaway and the
Gunnery Officer were on the bridge, and the Executive Officer was in the
conning tower. When the destroyer placed a shell through the main induction,
and one or more through the conning tower, these officers and several men were
killed. Lt. Brown succeeded to command. He decided to scuttle the ship, and
gave the order "all hands abandon ship." After giving the order the
last time the ship was dived at emergency speed by opening all vents. About 12
men rode the ship down, including Captain Cromwell and one other officer, both
of whom refused to leave it. Captain Cromwell, being familiar with plans for
our operations in the Gilberts and other areas, stayed with the ship to insure
that the enemy could not gain any of the information he possessed. For this
action, ComSubPac recommended that he be given the Congressional Medal of
Honor. In all, 42 men were taken prisoner by the Japanese destroyer, but one
was thrown over the side almost immediately because he was severely wounded.
Another man escaped being thrown overboard only by wrenching free of his
captors and joining the other men.

The group of 38 enlisted men and 3 officers were taken to Truk where they were
questioned for ten days. Then they were loaded on two carriers (21 on one, 20
on the other) and started for Japan. Enroute to its
destination, the carrier Chuyo, carrying 21 Sculpin survivors, was
torpedoed and sunk by Sailfish on 31 December 1943,
and only one American escaped. This was a particularly coincidental and tragic
event since Sculpin stood by Squalus (later recommissioned
Sailfish) when she sank off Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1939. At Ofuna, the
21 survivors were repeatedly questioned, and they learned they were in an
unofficial Navy prison camp. They were released from the camp a few at a time
when the enemy became convinced that they could get no information from them,
and were sent to work in the copper mines of Ashio. There they were allowed to
register as prisoners of war, and received at least enough food to live on,
although not enough to maintain health properly. They remained at Ashio until
released by American forces on 4 September 1945.

This
submarine on her first eight patrols sank nine ships for 42,200 tons and
damaged ten, totaling 63,000 tons. Her first patrol off the east coast of the
Philippine group resulted in one sinking, the 3,124 ton transport Kanko Maru on 10
January, 1942.
During her second patrol in the region east of Celebes, she sank a destroyer
type vessel and did damage to a light cruiser. Her third patrol was conducted
in the Molukka Sea, and Sculpin damaged a freighter. On her fourth patrol,
conducted in the South China Sea,
she is credited with having sunk a freighter, damaged another freighter and
three tankers.

Sculpin went to the Solomons
area for her fifth patrol, and is credited with sinking two large tankers and a
transport. She damaged a freighter on this patrol. Going back to the Solomons
for her sixth patrol, Sculpin damaged a tanker. Sculpin made her seventh
patrol in May and June 1943 in the Aleutians. Here she sank two
small patrol craft and damaged two freighters. On her eighth patrol in the East China Sea,
Sculpin sank a freighter-transport.